1 Mvuma bus crash victim still unidentified

Crime ReporterThe remains of one of the passengers who died when a South Africa-bound Proliner bus was side-swiped by a haulage truck before catching fire along the Harare-Masvingo Road in April are still at Gweru Provincial Hospital mortuary.The accident occurred at the 218km peg along the road.
Police said the remains did not match any samples collected from family members when DNA tests were conducted recently. Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the remains were still at the hospital.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police would like to appeal to members of the general public who may be missing their male relative to proceed to Gweru Provincial Hospital mortuary for DNA testing,” she said.

Snr Asst Comm Charamba urged members of the public to share information of their travelling plans with their friends and relatives whenever they intended to travel, in case of such mishaps on the roads.

“Transport operators are encouraged to maintain passenger manifestos on their passenger service vehicles and departure points,” she said. In April, DNA tests conducted on the remains of the passengers revealed that 31 people were killed in the ac- cident.

According to a list released by the Midlands Civil Protection Unit, there were 81 passengers aboard the bus when tragedy struck and 29 people died on the spot, while two others died in hospital. Remains of three of the deceased were buried in a mass grave in Harare at the request of their relatives.

Remains of three of the deceased were buried in a mass grave in Harare at the request of their relatives. The driver of the haulage truck, Regis Mungwari, has since appeared before Mvuma magistrate Mr Teyengwa Chibanda facing 21 counts of culpable homicide.

For the State, Mr Michael Kazomba alleged that on April 5 2017, Mungwari, who was driving a Harare-bound haulage truck with South African registration plates, side-swiped the bus. He said Mungwari acted negligently, resulting in the loss of life.